NHL Power Rankings: Streakiest players and teams in the league

In like lion, out like a lamb — or vice-versa — they say of March. Often, the same can be said of NHL players and teams.

Consistency is an elusive goal and the reality is, nobody ever scored 41 goals by netting one every other game for 82 showings. There are ups and downs in a season and sometimes you fly out of the gate only to hit a wall, while other times you find your second wind down the stretch.

For this edition of the power rankings, we’re highlighting the way a player or team has performed drastically different around a given demarcation point in the season. So, whether it’s gone from bad to great or fantastic to awful, here’s a look at some of the flip-flopping done on all 32 clubs.

1. Washington Capitals (45-15-8) Jakob Chychrun was on pace for 27 goals after 52 games, but he’s hit a bit of a slump lately and found the net just once in 11 outings.

2. Winnipeg Jets (47-18-4) Backup goalie Eric Comrie entered a game on New Year’s Eve with a .902 save percentage; since then, he’s got a .928 mark.

3. Carolina Hurricanes (41-22-4) Andrei Svechnikov came flying out of the gate with 14 points in his first 13 games. Since then, he’s scoring at just a 48-point pace and currently has a single point in his past seven games.

4. Dallas Stars (43-21-3) Jason Robertson had just seven goals in his first 31 games; since Dec. 29, he’s been scoring at a 55-goal clip. Related, the Dallas power play ranked 29^th in the NHL on Jan. 5 at 15.5 per cent, but is second in the league since then, at 34.2 per cent.

5. Florida Panthers (41-24-3) At the end of November, Sam Reinhart was on pace for 62 goals. Since then, he’s scored at a 28-goal clip.

6. Vegas Golden Knights (39-20-8) On Nov. 29, Adin Hill’s .894 save percentage ranked 27^th among the 39 goalies who’d played at least 10 games to that point. His .915 SP in 24 games since that time ranks eighth among the 36 stoppers who’ve played 20 contests.

7. Colorado Avalanche (41-25-3) On Jan. 25, the Avs were a wild-card team with a .580 points percentage. Since then, Colorado is 13-5-1 in 19 contests (.711).

8. Toronto Maple Leafs (41-24-3) The Leafs hit the halfway point with a solid penalty-kill (82.7 per cent) that ranked eighth. In the past 28 games, that number has dropped to 71.4 per cent, which ranks 26^th.

9. Edmonton Oilers (40-24-4) Viktor Arvidsson had seven goals through 47 games. The Swede has three in his past six outings, so let’s see if he’s coming alive.

10. Los Angeles Kings (36-21-9) The Kings are lions at home and lambs on the road. L.A. has a league-best .833 points percentage at Crytpo.com Arena and a .431 mark everywhere else.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning (39-23-5) Andrei Vasilevskiy has the best save percentage (.928) of any goalie who’s played 15 games since Dec. 28. Before that, Vasilevskiy — who, recall, had back surgery at the start of the 2023-24 season — had a .910 mark.

12. Ottawa Senators (36-26-5) Adam Gaudette had 13 (!) goals after 26 games; he’s got three in his past 40.

13. Montreal Canadiens (33-27-7) The Canadiens woke up Nov. 10 with a .333 points percentage that tied them with San Jose for the worst mark in the league. Their goal differential through 15 games was minus-22. In 52 outings since then, the Canadiens — believe it or not — own the 10^th-best points percentage in the NHL (.606) and are plus-6.

14. New Jersey Devils (37-26-6) In 2025, no goalie with a dozen games played has a better save percentage than Jake Allen’s .928. In his first 12 outings of the season, Allen posted an .897 SP.

15. St. Louis Blues (34-28-7) On Feb. 6, the Blues were averaging 2.65 goals per game, which ranked 27^th in the league. Since then, St. Louis is scoring 4.0 goals per game, which ranks 2nd, behind only the Stars (4.21).

16. Minnesota Wild (39-25-5) It looked like this season was Matt Boldy’s big breakout, as he posted 27 points through 26 games. But even with a two-goal showing Wednesday night versus the Kraken, Boldy has 31 points in his past 43 games. Of course, not having the injured Kirill Kaprizov in the lineup does nothing to help the Wild’s offensive players.

17. Vancouver Canucks (32-25-11) Dare Canucks fans dream? The much, much-maligned Elias Pettersson has four goals and eight points in his past seven outings. Somehow, this very talented centre was producing at a 52-point pace prior to that.

18. New York Islanders (31-28-8) It’s been a rough year for Noah Dobson, who — after registering 70 points last year — was basically on a 40-point pace at the halfway mark of the year and got injured shortly thereafter. However, he’s cranking it up as the Isles try to chase down a playoff spot, notching six points in his past seven games.

19. Calgary Flames (31-25-11) MacKenzie Weegar, first 22 games: 39-point pace. MacKenzie Weegar, past 21 games: 74-point pace. 

20. Utah Hockey Club (30-27-11) Logan Cooley was on a 75-point pace through 46 games, but he’s got just seven points in his past 15 outings.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets (31-28-8) Columbus was 26-19-7 and holding the first wild card on Jan. 31. The Jackets, though, are 5-9-1 since, have lost six of seven and will be out of the playoff chase completely by this time next week if they don’t jam the brakes on this skid.

22. New York Rangers (33-30-6) It feels like 10 years ago this squad started the year 12-4-1. Since Nov. 20, the Rangers have a .452 points percentage. Every team that’s worse than them — Seattle, Buffalo, Nashville, Chicago and San Jose — has long been focused on winning the draft lottery.

23. Detroit Red Wings (32-30-6) It was easy to think age was really catching up with Patrick Kane when the 36-year-old had 14 points — and just five goals — through 30 games. The dangerous winger still has it, though, throwing down 32 points in his past 28 outings.

24. Boston Bruins (30-30-9) David Pastrnak had 37 points through 39 games, which is not what you expect from a guy who hasn’t posted fewer than 110 points in either of the past two seasons. Since Jan. 11, though, “Pasta” has been cooking with 41 points in 25 games, more than everyone in the NHL during that time span.

25. Pittsburgh Penguins (28-32-10) At the 41-game mark, the Pens had the fifth-best power play in the league at 25.6 per cent. Since then, Pittsburgh ranks 23^rd at 20.3 per cent.

26. Anaheim Ducks (29-31-8) Are we witnessing the Mason McTavish breakout, just as he’s about to become an RFA? The third-year Duck had 19 points through 40 games, but has 22 in 22 games since.

27. Seattle Kraken (30-35-5) Jared McCann had nine goals by mid-November. He’s got eight since.

28. Buffalo Sabres (28-33-6) On U.S. Thanksgiving, the Sabres were one point out of the second wild card and two points back of the first. Since then, only Chicago (.337) and San Jose (.302) have a worse points percentage than Buffalo’s .420.

29. Nashville Predators (25-34-8) UFA whale Steven Stamkos had just 33 points through 60 games, but he has managed 10 points in his past seven. Nothing can save the Preds now but it still must feel good for “Stammer” to get on a heater.

30. Philadelphia Flyers (28-33-8) The Flyers were two points back of both the first and second wild cards on Jan. 21. They’re 6-13-2 since then and, rightfully so, Flyers fans are likely dreaming of a lottery win to supercharge the rebuild.

31. San Jose Sharks (18-41-9) Adjusting to the NHL is extremely hard, which is why Will Smith only had 14 points in his first 37 games. Since Jan. 4, he’s third in rookie scoring with 22 points in 27 games. That’s only one fewer than teammate Macklin Celebrini (23 in 27) and five back of Montreal’s Lane Hutson (27 in 29).

32. Chicago Blackhawks (20-39-9) Ryan Donato was having a nice year through 43 games, scoring at a 25-goal, 46-point pace. Since then, though, the undrafted 28-year-old has gone to a whole other level, posting an incredible 27 points in 21 games, good for a 96-point clip.

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